1972 (4) TMI 6

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..... irector of Inspections (Income-tax Intelligence), under the authority of a warrant issued by the Commissioner of Income-tax under section 132 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Mohanlal, the present petitioner, filed an application before the Chief Presidency Magistrate for the return of this amount. Observing that the matter does not fall within the purview of section 523 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the learned Magistrate dismissed his application. The correctness of this order is now canvassed in this revision. Under section 523 of the Criminal Procedure Code, when such a seizure is done by a police officer, he should forthwith report the matter to the Magistrate, and the latter should make such orders as he thinks fit respecting the dispo .....

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..... of powers under section 439 or under the inherent powers of the court under section 561A of the Criminal Procedure Code, when there was no case pending at the time excepting that the person against whom the investigation has started had appeared before the court, had surrendered and had been admitted to bail. This was a case which related to the powers of interference with the statutory right of investigation conferred upon the police under section 156 of the Criminal Procedure Code. In Emperor v. Nazir Ahmad, their Lordships of the Privy Council observed as below : " The functions of the judiciary and the police are complementary not overlapping and the combination of individual liberty with a due observance of law and order is only to b .....

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..... n, as pointed out in Basava Kom Dvamangouda Patil v. State of Mysore, under section 523 of the Criminal Procedure Code, power is given to the court to make such order as it thinks fit respecting the disposal of such property. In any case, the property must be available. Even assuming that due to the negligence of the police officers, the property was stolen and it was not detected, so long as the property is not available, the Magistrate cannot make an order under section 517 of the Criminal Procedure Code, nor could any direction be given for the return of the value thereof by virtue of the powers under section 561 A of the Criminal Procedure Code. Here, in this case, the property is not available with the police. Under the authority of a .....

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